Private firms now eye non-metro airports revamp

With the civil aviation ministry expected to invite bids for modernisation of 35 non-metro airports in the country soon, a host of private companies, including Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Pratibha Industries, GMR Infrastructure and GVK Industries, have expressed their keenness to enter the fray. GMR Infrastructure and GVK Industries had earlier bagged the mandate to modernise the metro airports of Delhi and Mumbai, respectively.

Says an L&T official, “We are certain to take up the development projects at the non-metro airports in the near future. We will invest in developing primary infrastructure like the runways, parking bays, cargo terminals and other technical facilities.” L&T had recently won the non-aeronautical, Rs 5,400 crore contract for Delhi airport modernisation against international competitive bidding.